The Phantom Isn't A Satan-like Character

Despite the Phantom disguising himself as an Angel of Music and trying to corrupt Christine, the title statement of this blog post is true. The Phantom is indeed not a Satan-like character. Here's why. Satan is a fallen angel. The Phantom is not an actual angel at all, fallen or otherwise.

Satan leads people astray. He leads them away from God. He corrupts them. He does so because he knows God is a father. He knows that like any parent, God desires to have a loving and personal relationship with His children. God desires to be one with His children. When people reject God, it hurts Him. And Satan knows this. Simply put, Satan corrupts people and leads them astray to hurt God.

The Phantom does try to corrupt Christine and lead her astray. But he doesn't do so in order to hurt someone else. He does so because he loves her in his own unhealthy way and wants to be loved. Through no choice or fault of his own, the Phantom has been shunned by society. Understandably feeling unsafe and unwelcome in the outside world where the light shines upon his deformed face and people judge him harshly, he tempts Christine in order to get her to be with him in his kingdom of darkness and music. But at the same time, it is Christine's innocence and compassion that makes the Phantom feel like he's not a hideous monster.

Satan does not desire love and redemption. The Phantom does desire love and redemption. It is this desire that drives his pursuit of Christine. The Phantom's longing for love and redemption is conveyed by the following lyrics in "I Remember/Stranger Than You Dreamt It:"

Can you even dare to look
Or bear to think of me?
This loathsome gargoyle, who burns in hell
But secretly yearns for heaven

This repulsive carcass, who seems a beast
But secretly dreams of beauty

While the Phantom does indeed display several characteristics of the Satan character archetype, I think calling him a Satan-expy is a bit too much of a stretch.